Current AffairsPrague district referendum - an exercise in direct democracy

As Czechs went to the polls at the weekend, some had more choices to make
than just choosing the next president. In seven places around the country,
people also took part in local referenda, voting mostly on issues
concerning public property. In the district of Prague 7 the referendum was
meant to decide on how the town hall should go about putting up a new
administrative building for the district. With more than 40%
participation,
an overwhelming majority rejected a plan to build a new administrative
building for the district which many consider to be overpriced. Radio
Prague spoke to a representative of the initiative behind the referendum,
Jan Čižinský, and asked why they decided to organize it.

Illustrative photo: CTK
“Our mayor and the city council wanted to construct a new city hall that
would cost one billion crowns, or about 40 million euros. And Prague 7
[town hall] has 240 employees, so the price per single employee was the
same as the price for a new 100 m2 apartment. And no architectural
competition was held. So we organized a referendum to improve the price
and
to make them hold an architectural competition.”

Who was involved in organizing the referendum?

“There were three civil associations and also three political parties
from the opposition. We came together in this referendum project.”

Was there a lot of opposition to your initiative from the town
hall?

“It wasn’t easy. We had to collect the signatures of 10% of all the
Prague 7 inhabitants. And even to simply meet 10% of inhabitants isn’t
easy. But we collected the signatures within two months. And then we had
to
win a legal battle with the mayor and city council [over whether the
referendum could be held]. And after a year we won in court and the
referendum was organized.”

More than forty percent of Prague 7 residents took part in the
referendum,
and the vast majority made it clear that they want the town hall to spend
less and for it to be more transparent. Do you think that the fact that
people were able to bring about this change will have an impact on the
overall mood or even political participation?

Jan Čižinský, photo: Official website of KDU-ČSL
“I hope so, and I hope that it will strengthen the civil society not
only in Prague 7. Civil associations or inhabitants of other Prague
districts have contacted us. And they are interested in our experience and
know-how in how to organize a referendum. For example, inhabitants of
Prague 8 or Prague 10 have similar problems to the ones we have in Prague
7. And they also want to organize a referendum about very expensive
project
in their district.”

Do you think that the town hall will adhere to the decision of the
voters?
Do you expect any problems in the future?

“I don’t expect big problems. I think the results will be respected by
the mayor and by the city council. But of course we will be watching them
very closely.”